The elections in Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories and Iraq underscore the challenges of bringing democracy to the Islamic world. Although billed as "post-conflict" elections, all took place in the midst of continuing conflict and the presence of foreign armed forces.
We have observed 35 elections in 26 countries. As observers, we independently assess the quality and credibility of elections and seek to detect and deter fraud. Professional observer groups have developed methodologies to determine whether minimum international standards are met. In doing so, they can bolster the legitimacy of the outcome. Yet observers have no formal authority or power other than to publicize their findings.
Following are some situations we and other observers have encountered while monitoring elections around the world.
* In 1992 in Guyana, the major opposition party challenged the independence of the election commission, whose members had ties to the ruling party. It feared the election would be rigged. Former President Carter and Carter Center observers mediated the dispute, and the commission was restructured. The government chose its chairman from a list of candidates provided by the opposition, ensuring that decisions would be bipartisan. The result was greater trust among all parties.
* During Zanzibar's 2000 election, rumors spread through the capital that ballot boxes had been stolen, and angry voters gathered outside polling stations. The election commission did little to squash the rumors, but it suspended the vote count and requested that the army be mobilized. The restaged election two weeks later was a rerun of this experience, which led the opposition and international observers to boycott future elections.
* At one site in Mali in 2002, there was no electricity. Poll workers struggled to count ballots by the light of three candles not much bigger than those found on a birthday cake. One worker tried to keep the wick lighted by mounding the melted wax. Fortunately, an observer had a flashlight.
* During the recent Palestinian Authority elections, a problem occurred at six polling stations in East Jerusalem, an area where only a small number of Palestinians were allowed to vote. The voters learned they were not on registration lists, a situation that escalated tensions. Election observers brokered an agreement between Israeli and Palestinian authorities to allow the Palestinians to vote at any of the East Jerusalem stations, regardless of whether they were on the voter lists.
